A year after Harvard-Westlake won 28 games and captured the Southern Section Division I baseball championship at Dodger Stadium — the only school from the San Fernando Valley to win it all in the section’s largest division — the Wolverines are back for more.

All-America pitcher Jack Flaherty, the returning Cal-Hi Sports state player of the year, has returned, joining several other key figures headed to major colleges, and with such an abundance of talent, Harvard-Westlake is ranked No. 1 in the state.

Flaherty is the building block. He was 13-0 as a junior — 27-3 over three-plus seasons — with a 0.63 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 89 innings, allowing 10 walks and just three extra-base hits with nine complete games and one save.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder also batted .360 with two home runs and 31 runs.

“He’s looked great in the fall and winter,” Harvard-Westlake coach Matt LaCour said. “Once he started ramping up on his throwing again, his velocity picked up, and his secondary pitches have all progressed. He’s in good shape to have another big year.”

Flaherty, already 2-0 this season for the Wolverines (5-0), says he’s ready for anything, conceding there is a target on his back and being fully aware that opponents are going to give Harvard-Westlake everything they’ve got each and every game.

“Everyone will probably throw their best guy against me, and every team is going to give it their best shot,” said Flaherty, who struck out nine a 1-0 victory Tuesday over Chatsworth.

“But as far as pressure is concerned, we’re not worried about the pressure other teams are going to put on us. We’re more focused on the pressure we put on ourselves. We want to keep on winning.”

Ginsberg, who is headed to Brown University, is a three-year starter who batted .337 last season. Steinberg, a junior who has committed to Oregon, hit .376. Karo, who takes over for graduated slugger Arden Pabst (now at Georgia Tech), is going to Columbia.

“Brian Ginsberg is our vocal leader,” LaCour said. “He’s been our mainstay at shortstop for three years, and he kind of provides us a steady go-about-your-business type of approach to the game, and the rest of the team feeds off that. They follow his lead.”

Steinberg is making a switch from left field.

“Second base is actually his natural position, and he’s making steady improvement,” LaCour said. “He’s a typical baseball rat, one of those kids that gets on base and causes havoc. He’s a really good baserunner, and that causes other teams to take notice.”

Urbach has committed to Fordham and Vokulich is headed to New York University.

Deere, a sophomore, is the closer, and he has a huge upside. And then there is Grayson, a junior who threw out the potential tying run at home plate in the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium in one of the clutch defensive plays in area history.

Harvard-Westlake is very deep. Good players want to be at the elite private school in Studio City, and even some of the bench players would probably be among the key starters at competing schools.

“We have a lot of guys from the JV, a lot of guys that are stepping up,” Steinberg said. “We’re confident.”

LaCour arrived in 2007, and he was already a proven winner at El Camino Real, where he won a City Section Division I championship, and at Chatsworth, where he was an assistant under Tom Meusborn, who won two national titles.

The coach loves to play small ball, with lots of bunts and baserunning moves, and he always emphasizes basic fundamentals.

“We take pride in our defense,” Ginsberg said. “We’re one of those teams that grinds it out in practice every day.”

Nothing will come easy, particularly in the Mission League. Although Harvard-Westlake is No. 1 in the state, league rival Loyola started at No. 2 before an early loss to Calabasas. Alemany is also considered a championship contender and Chaminade, Notre Dame, Crespi and St. Francis all should be tough.

“We’re playing in a really competitive tournament in Arizona over spring break, and that should be fun, but it’s our league schedule that looks really tough this year,” LaCour said. “Everyone seems to be returning a lot of talent, so we’re going to focus on those games first and foremost.”

And then the playoffs, of course. For a kid to play under the lights at Dodger Stadium is as magical as you would think it is.

“It was the best night of my life. That game seemed like it flew by in no time,” Ginsberg said. “It was just awesome.”

Flaherty was at his best that night, pitching a shutout with eight strikeouts and driving in the only run before a crowd of more than 8,000.

With a player of such impact back, Harvard-Westlake just might do it again. There is no other plan for the Wolverines.

“That is our main goal,” Flaherty said. “We want to get back to the CIF championship game, and we want to win it all.”

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